The Penguin Book of Exorcisms

A comprehensive and extremely informative volume of essays, eyewitness accounts, diary entries, reports and legal documents concerning the most unexplainable and terrifying phenomenon in all cultures. Demonic possession and exorcism.

From France to India, from Tibet to Sudan, from Haiti to the United States, throughout the centuries, throughout traditions and convictions. From Hippocrates and his greatness of perception to the story of St Anthony and St Juliana, the saint who humiliated a demon, the travelling ‘'shows'' of Brossier's exorcisms, the famous case of the Ursuline nuns of Loudun and their possession (the inspiration behind the marvellous 1971 film The Devils by Ken Russell. Exorcisms performed in North America during the 18th century, in Toledo, in Mexico. The conflict between the Jesuits, the Methodists, the curanderos. The Jewish tradition of the dybbuk, the fox spirits of the Chinese and Japanese lore, the Tibetan spirits, the rusalki of the Slavic cultures.

Naturally, the 20th and 21st century cannot be overlooked. Exorcisms in South Africa, the Philippines, and the USA (in Iowa and Indiana) are described in extreme detail. Despite our preconceived notions, moulded in images influenced by famous films and TV series and regardless of the fact of our faith, this is a field that will never cease to amaze, frighten and fascinate us. This volume is a necessary addition to the collection of every lover and investigator of the paranormal.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/